Disappearance
by ach3u
Summary: The Fourth Great Shinobi War is ending. Madara has been defeated and the surviving members of the Allied Shinobi Force begins to celebrate, only to be stopped short with one question, "Where is Naruto?" (First Fan-Fiction)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 Where is Naruto?

Disclaimer: I do **Not **own Naruto or any of the characters within this fan-fiction. The Naruto-verse was created by Masashi Kishimoto and I'm only borrowing it for this story.

_Thoughts_

Normal Talk

**Kurama Talking **

**The End...**

As the fight drew it's last breath everything seemed to move in slow motion.

Bodies littered the battlefield around the remainder of Team Seven as they stood, entranced by the swift movement of their unspoken hero. His figure could be seen, darting through the air, no movement wasted. As with his father, his teleportation technique astounded the three companions as they stood by and watched the final minutes of the intense battle before them.

"Amazing," Kakashi said and his breath failed him in his attempts to regain composure from his failed attempt to aid his former student. The masked ninja was staggering beside the remnants of his former Team 7. His chakra was nearly depleted and as a result his body could hardly stand. His many attempts to aid the young hero of the leaf were futile since the battle had taken on the nature of a battle between deities.

'_What can I do to help him?' _Kakashi asked himself as he felt his power nearly drained.

"What should we do?" Sakura questioned as she looked at her teammate as the battle continued. "We can't keep up with his stamina, and we are no match for Madara in this form."

"We have no choice but to watch at this point," Sasuke simply snarled as he sat beside his former teacher and comrade, his strength continuing to fail him as he attempted to stand beside them.

As the group stood, transfixed by the fight before them, they didn't notice the gen-jutsu had been released on the remaining Allied Shinobi Force.

Moments seemed to pass like hours as the trio stood unnerved at the fight going on around them. The air radiated with the scent of scorched earth and blood, dust had covered most of the bodies of the fallen and those who remained at the battlefront.

"W-w-where is Naruto-kun?" a soft, wavering voice pierced the entranced shinobi. Upon hearing this, Sakura and Sasuke spun quickly in the direction of the voice, only noticing then that the blue haired girl had materialized immediately beside the two as soon as the enemy's jutsu had been released.

Before Sakura could give any sort of reply, a blinding white light lit up the earth around them. A distinguishable groan from the surviving ninja behind the Konohoa group reiterated the massive attack that had suddenly appeared before them.

As Sakura's gaze quickly regained the last place she had seen Naruto and Madara, she found the source of the light. A powerful orb of chakra had formed from the combination of two attacks. Her mouth dropped open as her mind was filled with fear for her teammate.

When Hinata noticed her friend's gaze shift away from her back towards the source of the light, she immediately activated her visual dojutsu, with a quick word and a few hand seals. Her limited strength greatly diminished her extraordinary vision slightly, but she could see them nonetheless as they came together in an earth-shattering explosion.

Naruto's Wind-style Rasenshruiken had evidently overpowered Madara's attempt to block it, and the two were sent in opposing directions violently. "Naruto-kun!" Hinata screamed, as she witnessed the explosion. It seemed as if it were in slow motion. The look of horror on her already pale face displayed the emotions she had felt tearing her heart apart. Before she could even start running towards the last place she had seen Naruto, she felt Sakura's hands on her shoulders, restricting her from running out into the middle of destruction plaguing the earth in front of them.

"We have to find him!" Hinata screamed as she was held in place by the medic-nin.

"We will, Hinata," Sakura cried with emotion, attempting to calm her friend. "Naruto will be ok, but we need to be sure that Madara is finished. If he isn't then nothing else will matter."

'_The way she looks now, as when she fought Pain, Hinata loves Naruto' _Sakura thought. _'We will find him...'_

A look of determination from the pink-haired kunoichi calmed Hinata a little before she fell to her knees in defeat. She knew Sakura was right and for that she couldn't help but to briefly shrink back into the shadow of doubt that had once overwhelmed her strength.

'_I'm too weak to save him this time.' _At this thought though another resounded deeply within her mind. Back to when Naruto first entered the battle.

Flashback:

_Naruto sensed her thoughts as he stood before her in Kurama's cloak. "You are not weak. Stop thinking that. You have already saved me twice. Don't risk your life like that again._

End Flashback

In remembering that statement, Hinata regained some of her composure. _'How could I doubt Naruto's strength. He wouldn't fall to someone like Madara. I believe in him. He will be ok.' _ With that thought, her strength was renewed and the momentary relapse had all but vanished from her mind. _'I'll wait for you Naruto. Come back to me.'_

By this time, Kakashi had regained some of his balance and stood firmly beside Sakura and Hinata. With his ocular power he could see the outcome of the last attack and couldn't help but stare as he had seen Madara's body being dismantled within Naruto's powerful jutsu. The light began to fade so that the entire remnant of the Allied Shinobi Forces could see, from their limited perspective, the body of Madara falling, in pieces, quickly to the debris of rock below, where it remained motionless.

The remaining shinobi could only hope that what Naruto had done had finished the _juubi jinchuriiki_. From where they stood, they could only look on with hope that the war was finally over.

Sasuke, Kakashi, and Sakura looked towards the fallen foe as if they were expecting him to revive and continue his assault on Earth. Moments passed as though they were weeks at a time. The release of the infinite tsukuyomi had been a sign that the caster's power was diminishing or focused on something else that required intense chakra control.

As the impact of his body hitting the earth took most of their attention, Hinata alone looked for Naruto. His chakra signature disappeared as he was sent miles through the air by the explosion.

Minutes passed like years as the sudden realization had hit the entire military force at once: the war was over.

The sound of cheers and screams of joy dismissed the intense aura of fear and defeat that had previously occupied the air around the troops.

"Where is Naruto-kun?!" Hinata screamed as the remaining forces had dropped their guard in relief. Her words pierced the hearts and minds of everyone around her and sent a wave of panic momentarily back into the crowd of shinobi. At Hinata's words, everyone's attention had been brought back to their young hero.

"Did anybody else see his chakra disappear?" the blue haired kunoichi asked anyone and everyone around her. Their looks said it all. Many had looks of confusion and sadness. No one else had noticed the events surrounding Naruto's disappearance with the exception of her.

As the confusion grew amongst the survivors, many medic ninja and others started organizing the treatment for the injured. '_The end has come at last to the war,'_ Hinata thought, 'but what happened to Naruto?'

Sakura, Kakashi, and Saskue still stood beside Hinata, motionless. They had no idea what had happened. One thing that they did know was that the war was finally over.

"We will find him Hinata," Kakashi said calmly. With a smile he quickly added, "He has survived so much thus far, I would hardly imagine an asshole like Madara would be able to kill an unpredictable ninja like him."

Although Hinata knew he was right, her concern for the blonde ninja didn't cease. Until she could see him, put her hands on him, feel his breath, know he was safe, she would not stop worrying.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 Memories

Disclaimer: I do Not own Naruto or anything within the Naruto-verse Masashi Kishimoto has created.

Over the centuries it had become a saying that at the moment one's death that person has a flood of memories quickly assemble themselves indiscriminately in their mind as a final reminder of what is being left behind. It has also been said that this occurence also happens as one has an extremely near death experience. In Naruto's case, it was the latter.

Naruto knew, the second his attack left his hands, that he had a minimal chance of surviving it himself. He was too close.

The battle with Madara, in it's longevity, had taken nearly all of his as well as Kurama's chakra to draw the reincarnated Uchiha back to the afterlife. Never before had he been so utterly exhausted in chakra reserves.

As the Wind Style Rasenshruiken struck his opponent, Naruto had become completely exhausted. His last feeble attempt to move away had been in vain as the blinding, white light enveloped his enemy and expanded. His sage mode had disappeared as well as the chakra cloak provided by Kyubi resulting in his own attack incapsulating his own body as well.

The result of the attack brought about an eerily similar effect to the entirety of his body which only his hand had suffered from in his previous defeat of Kakuzu. HIs chakra network was devoured by the white wind technique which had already proven to be fatal to nearly anyone that happened to be the unfortunate recipient of such a devastating force.

As Naruto felt his chakra network being destroyed quickly from the concussion of his earlier attack, his mind flashed some memories before his very eyes.

Flashback

_The night he became a Genin. Mizuki was pommelled with the overwhelming number of shadow clones Naruto had created. As a result Iruka was alive, sitting with his injuries, against the tree, a good distance from the village. _

"_Naruto, you've done well. You shouldn't have had to suffer like you have. I'm sorry I couldn't help you. I'm proud to be able to have you as a student. Close your eyes." _

_As Naruto closed his eyes he felt his googles slip from his forehead. He couldn't help but wonder what was going on. _

_When he opened his eyes he saw Iruka smiling back at him in the moonlight night. As he looked down he noticed that Iruka was holding his googles. Returning his gaze to his smiling instructor, he noticed the head band was missing from his forehead._

_As he reached up he felt the metallic object resting against his own in place of his googles. _

"_You are worthy of being a shinobi Naruto. This is the least I can do for you." _

Instantly after his soft speech, Naruto's mind sent him to another memory.

_It was the finals during the Chunnin exams, prior to the betrayal of the Village Hidden in the Sand. _

_Naruto was standing over Neji in the crater that had formed from his stunning, defiant assault, victorious in the fight against the stronger opponent from the Hyuga Clan. He had promised her that he would win no matter what and he was able to fulfill his oath he had made with her blood as a seal. _

"_How could this have happened. You were fated to lose. It was your destiny." Neji spat as he looked up at the blonde haired dead-last. _

"_Fate is what you make it to be." Naruto replied coldly."Even though you are a genius, you lost because I changed my own fate. I worked harder and got stronger. Hinata has done so as well and perhaps you will see that with your own eyes someday." _

One final memory, unlike the others, floated into Naruto's mind.

_Naruto had been putting up a good fight with the one called Pain. He had demolished the first five version's of the self-proclaimed deity, and yet he was pinned to the earth in the middle of the crater once known as Konoha. Steel-grey chakra rods protruded from each of his limbs, most notably his hands in front of him. His immobility brought on a sense of helplessness that couldn't be shed no matter how hard he tried. _

_He was finished. _

"_I have placed these rods, missing all vital organs, and there is no means of breaking yourself free. Surrender to death and the peace that will follow with it." _

_As these words began to register in Naruto's mind, he couldn't help but think of all of his comrades, his precious people that he had failed to protect. Although his attempt to take on the leader of the organization out to capture him had surpassed his sensei's , he knew he was at his end. His sage mode was useless against his enemy. With a cloak of anger he screamed out towards Pain in a feeble attempt to cover his helplessness. _

_Pain took a step towards him, declaring himself the victor over the Nine-tails Jinchuriki. Before he could get within arms reach of Naruto, however, a flash of blue and lavender jumped quickly in between the two opponents, facing away from Naruto staring dead-eye into the Tendo version of Pain. _

_Naruto, quickly realizing who had materialized in between him and his death, shouted out,"What are you doing here?!He's too powerful for you!Save yourself you cannot match up to him!"_

_In response, the lavender-eyed beauty simply said, "I know." _

_He couldn't believe what he was seeing. 'Why?' he thought. 'Why would she do this? She can't possibly take him would she do this to herself?'_

"_Why are you doing this HInata? Get out of here. Save yourself, I do not want you dying because of me!" _

"_I'm being selfish," the blue-haired girl said without a hint of hesitation. "You've always been there for me whether you knew it or not. You have always been an inspiration to me, to never give up, no matter what. You are a precious person to me and have been for as long as it has been since I first met you. Your smile saved me, your determination drove me. I'm out here because of you. Never to give up and not going back on my word, I'm here to protect you even if it means my death. I do this because...I...Love You..." _

_As she finished with those words, Naruto's mind went out on him. Never had he heard anyone say that to him in his life. The Third Hokage never told him that. Iruka never told him that. His guardian at the orphanage never told him that. _

With the last memory ringing freshly in his mind, Naruto smiled. Even in death he knew that with what he had done he could protect his precious people, the remnants of the Rookie 9, the village of Konoha, every one of the elemental nations and the shinobi therein, but most importantly he could protect her.

The smile still held on his face as the world around him went dark. '_Hinata, I love you too' was the last thought that went through his mind as he his breath grew shallow and he gave in to the darkness for what he thought to be the final time. _

_000000000000000000000_

Moments after the dust around Madara's body had settled, Kakashi, Hiashi, and numerous prominent shinobi had gathered around the location to confirm the Uchiha's defeat and consequent death. It didn't take long for the group to conclude that Naruto's Wind Style Rasenshuriken was responsible for the massive amount of energy which spawned the nearly blinding white light. Madara's body was decimated beyond repair from the massive amount of slits within his Chakra network. Although he was a reincarnated entity, the Chakra Network he held within was utterly destroyed by the young hero's extraordinary attack rendering Madara completely useless.

One thing the gathered shinobi could not explain was how Naruto had managed to actually kill the reincarnated monstrosity that was Madara Uchiha. The only means of incapacitating a reanimated corpse would be to have it sealed, yet no one had noticed any sort of sealing occur as Naruto's attack hit him.

"What happened here Kakashi?" Hiashi asked with a hint of fear and amazement. "In order to stop a reanimation, doesn't the person in question need to be sealed?"

"Naturally, the only way to defeat the reanimation jutsu is to first find the caster. However, during the battle it seemed as though the caster of the original jutsu had been discovered and stopped. With that being said, Madara had somehow discovered a way of escaping the cursed jutsu and consequently freed himself from the fate of the caster. That, in and of itself, should have not been possible." Kakashi stated in a matter-of fact tone.

"It would seem there are still a number of questions yet to be answered," Hiashi replied. "Has there been any word on the fate of Naruto?"

"None so far," the grey-haired shinobi replied sadly. "It troubles me that Naruto, who in the end single-handedly ended the war, is unable to be here with us in celebration. I have hope that the teams dispersed will have luck finding him."

000000000000000

It had been only an hour ago that Madara had fallen motionless to the earth in defeat, yet the end of the war could do nothing to replace the feeling of despair creeping quickly into Hinata's heart.

Kakashi and Sakura had given her the utmost assurance that they would find Naruto, however that was an hour ago. The search team of the recently reunited Team 7 minus Kakashi and Naruto, surviving members of Team Guy, Team 8 minus Kurenai, as well as the remaining Huygas, had provided few answers to the questions her heart was bringing to the forefront of her mind.

'_What happened within that light? He should be here right now. What if he is dead? Why haven't we found him yet? _Hinata turned these thoughts over and over again in her mind. Her Byakugan's reach had grown to a nearly impossible level as her determination to find the man she loved grew desperate.

Team 8 had spread out at fifteen meter intervals heading west from the location Kakashi and Hiashi had determined to be the center of the blast. Exhaustion threatened to overwhelm the young shinobi in their desperate search to find their comrade, the hero from the leaf who had ended the war. Minutes grew into hours as the three team mates made their way through the wasteland of the immense battlefield.

Hinata raced through the destruction around her at an unmatchable speed with the intent of finding the man she had grown to love above anything else.

"Wait up Hinata!" Kiba screamed as he attempted to catch up to his long-time teammate and close friend. "We'll find him, just slow down a little. We are all exhausted from the war we just walked out of. We need to take a rest."

As if she didn't hear a thing he said Hinata continued to press forward with break-neck speed. Her eyes, illuminated by the Byakugan never once stopping for moment to relinquish their gaze from the land around them.

"Kiba is right Hinata," came a voice to her back right, twenty five meters away. "We are running on desperation and that is not the way we can help Naruto. If we cannot maintain our composure and our own health we can do little to assist our friend."

At Shino's words, Hinata slowed her pace slightly, just enough that she could glare at her teammates for a brief second before she said,"And what if he's dying right now?!We won't be able to help him if we stop now." Her declaration fell heavy on the somber hearts of her companions.

"I know what you're saying and I would like nothing more than to find him right now, but we are about out of chakra from moving so quickly, especially after everything that's happened. We need to rest Hinata, as much as I don't like it myself, it's the truth," Shino replied solemnly.

His words brought tears to the nearly heartbroken woman as she slowed her pace to virtually nothing more than a light walk before her feet gave out on her. _'He's right.' _She thought.

After seeing Hinata fall to her knees on the cold, course rocks, her two teammates joined her quickly with an embrace of sorrow. They understood the way Hinata felt about Naruto, they had seen it for years. The three teammates were as close as actual family if not closer. Each of their individual pain was felt by the others on a primal level that no one had come close to mimicking.

Kiba guided Hinata to a seat on a nearby, rock close to a small stream. Shino gathered what he could of firewood to set up a make-shift camp for the night.

Stars grew bright as the night drew on. Nothing but sobs came to the lavender-eyed woman as her companions sought nothing but to comfort their teammate. Eventually, the two men felt their exhaustion overwhelm them and they passed out on the earth beside her, close to the warmth-filled flames.

Hinata sat there in thought, tears streaming down her pale cheeks in the starry night. Sleep, nor exhaustion could overwhelm her as the memories of her love fought both for dominance in her mind.

Flashback:

_Walking along the dirt pathway on a side-street in the village of Konoha, Hinata had accidentally walked into a boy in a three man group. As a result, the young boy had dropped his ice-cream on the dirt path near his feet. After gaining his composure he recognized her as on of the Hyuga clan members. His only experience with one prior to had been with her arrogant cousin, Neji. _

_As he responded to the collision, he and his friends, guided the young girl to the nearby line of trees. With anger and malice he verbally attacked her. "You Hyugas are all the same. You think you're better than everyone else. I want you to APOLOGIZE!" _

_Hinata cowered at the bully's words and began to make a broken apology,"I..I..I'm...so..so..sorrr..sorry," she stuttered as her eyes filled with tears. The boy held her head towards the ground as if he thought she should bow before him. _

_Before the boy could continue the assault, another voice entered the fray. "Let her GO!" _

_The young delinquent turned in time to see the young boy in orange standing before hime with his fists drawn at his sides. The Blonde hair, whisker marks and indescribable blue eyes could not hide the anger the young boy held as an expression on his face. "I said, let her GO!" He screamed again. _

_Without a chance to respond to the new kid in front of him, the blonde boy sprang forward in a fit of fury and tackled the leader of the three-man troupe. The surprise attack had paralyzed the leader into inaction as the young man began pounding his fists into the other's chest and face. _

_Before he could do anything substantial, however, the two cronies of the bully pulled Naruto off of the boy and began to attack him without mercy. _

_As the assault on the blonde-haired boy continued, Hinata could do nothing but look on as her hero was beaten tremendously. Her tears fell for him as her guardian came into view upon hearing the scuffle. Thankfully, to Hinata''s relief, the young bullies fled at the sight of the adult coming her way. _

_Before Hinata could properly thank the unconscious boy who had saved her she was whisked away by Ko, her assigned protector. _

"_Lady Hinata, you are not to be around that boy. Let's go home." Ko said before she could muster up any sort of resistance. _

End of Flashback

"Naruto-kun," Hinata said as exhaustion began to take hold, "I love you, please be alright..."

As she fell into the pit of exhaustion and her eyes closed against her will, Naruto's last thought replayed through his mind for the last time before he was overwhelmed, '_Hinata, I love you.'_


End file.
